Authors

Richard A. Posner, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit; University of Chicago Law SchoolFollow

Do We Have Too Many Intellectual Property Rights?

Abstract

The Honorable Richard A. Posner discusses the dangers presented by the propertization of intellectual property rights, particularly in the areas of copyright and patent. Unlike physical property, intellectual property rights are limited by duration, scope, and allowance of faire use. These limitations underlie the existence of a rich public domain that encourages the most valuable uses of intellectual property by reducing transaction costs and encouraging the creation of additional creative works.

Repository Citation

Richard A. Posner, Do We Have Too Many Intellectual Property Rights?, 9 Marq. Intellectual Property L. Rev. 173 (2005).
Available at: https://scholarship.law.marquette.edu/iplr/vol9/iss2/1